Acer to launch Android-based Tablet, iPad alternative?

Acer has shown off an Android-based iPad alternative. Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci presented the 7in colour-screen gadget at a press event in Beijing today and promised to bring the unnamed product to market in Q4. Tech Life Style portal based in Dubai, UAE has broke this news at first.

Lanci apparently said that Acer may seek to offer the device through mobile phone networks, implying a model with integrated 3G connectivity. It also sports a Kindle-style Qwerty keypad.

The tablet’s appearance comes three months or so after Acer Taiwan chief Scott Lin said the company had no plans to launch a gadget along the lines of Apple’s iPad – even though a colleague – Jim Wong, head of Acer’s IT products division – had previously said the company was working on such a device.

Acer also announced today the Q3 release of LumiRead, a more traditional e-book reader with a 6in E Ink screen, 2GB of on-board memory and an SD card slot for more